SIPTU members employed across the manufacturing sector continue to receive pay increases with over 210 wage agreements finalised so far.

The increases are part of a strategy by the union’s Manufacturing Division which has secured an increase in pay across the sector of, on average, 2% per annum.

The increases in pay across the manufacturing sector are important in that they insulate the take home pay of union members as much as possible from the full effects of the economic crisis and austerity.

The union will continue to press for wage increases across both the private and public sectors over the coming months while campaigning for a budget that protects public services and those who depend on them.

It will also vigorously oppose tax cuts for the wealthy while arguing that the Labour Party should quit government rather than agree to the €2.5 billion ‘adjustment’ on which the European Commission and the Fiscal Advisory Council, among other bodies, have insisted.